~32 years experience in Isotope Geochemistry and stable isotope mass spectrometry; initiated teaching and research programmes on stable isotope geochemistry and mass spectrometry in general and past climate change, mass extinction events in earth history and isotope hydrology in connection with on-going climate change in particular; also developed new experimental techniques in the field of stable isotope measurements; used stable isotope tools to tackle variety of geological and climatic problems. published large number of research articles in peer reviewed journals including Nature and mentored number of masters and Ph.D. students.; established country’s first National Stable Isotope Facility at IIT, Kharagpur sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology under the IRHPA programme to provide quality isotope data to students and researchers from Universities so that they are not dependent on foreign laboratories and to create trained manpower in stable isotope research. Few major areas of research: Application of stable isotopes in Archaeology, Sedimentology, isotope and sequence stratigraphy of Palaeogene Himalayan foreland sediments and lignite basins of western India, Tropical PETM records, modern deltas; Arsenic pollution in Bengal basin; Monsoon variability and deep ocean circulation over century to million year time scale using stable and short lived radio-isotope systematics of carbonates, organic matter and water; Causes of extinction events across major geological boundaries namely Precambrian/Cambrian, Permo-Triassic, Cretaceous/Tertiary, Eocene/Oligocene etc. using isotope and geochemical tracers; Geochemistry and geochronology of mafic-ultramafic rocks from Singhbhum Craton using trace elements, REE, Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd and silicate stable isotope systematics.
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Oxygen isotope evidence for a stronger winter monsoon current during the last glaciation A.Sarkar, R.Ramesh, S.K.Bhattacharya and G. Rajagopalan By Nature 343 549-551 (1990)
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Does burial diagenesis reset pristine isotopic compositions in paleosol carbonates? M.K. Bera, Sarkar, A. S.K. Tandon, P. Sanyal, and A. Samanta By Earth and Planetary science Letters 300 85-100 (2010)
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Evolution of Ganges-Brahmaputra western delta plain: Clues from sedimentology and carbon isotope A. Sarkar, P.P. Chakrabarty, J.M. McArthur,et al. By Quaternary Science Reviews 28 2564-2581 (2009)
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Mesoproterozoic sulphidic ocean, delayed oxygenation and evolution of early life: sulphur isotope clues from Indian Proterozoic basins A. Sarkar, P.P. Chakraborty, B. Mishra et al. By Geological Magazine (Cambridge) S0016756809990380 - (2009)
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Stable isotope evidence of dual (Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal) vapour sources in monsoonal precipitation over north India S. Sengupta and A. Sarkar By Earth and Planetary Science Letters 250 511-521 (2006)
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Carbon isotopes across the Eocene-Oligocene boundary sequence of Kutch, western India: Implications to oceanic productivity and pCO2 change A. Sarkar, S. Sarangi, S.K. Bhattacharya and A.K. Ray By Geophysical Research Letters 30 1588-1591 (2003)
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Geochemical evidence for anoxic deep water in the Arabian sea during the last glaciation A. Sarkar, S.K. Bhattacharya and M.M. Sarin By Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 57 1009-1016 (1993)
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Stable isotope analysis of dinosaur eggshells paleoenvironmental implications A. Sarkar, S. K. Battacharya and D.M. Mohabey By (Geol. Soc. America) 19 1068-1071 (1991)
Principal Investigator
- Tracking the Antiquity and Climate during Bronze Age Harappan/Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) in India using Isotope and Latest Chronological Techniques
- Tracking the antiquity and climate-human interaction from Iron Age/Late Vedic to Medieval period at Vadnagar using isotope and latest chronological techniques
Ph. D. Students
Fulmati Ram
Area of Research: Organic Geochemistry
